Story 1: President Trump News Conference — Videos

Trump press conference: I didn’t threaten anybody, Democrats did

Story 2: President Trump Call To Ukraine President — Perfectly Legal Call as Unclassified MEMORANDUM OF TELEPHONE CONVERSATION Clearly Shows — President Trump is Under Article Two of The Constitution The Chief Law Enforcement Officer of The United States — TREATY WITH UKRAINE ON MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS — Videos —

Tucker: Democrats pin their hopes on flimsy ‘evidence’

—

Hannity: Transcript shows no misconduct whatsoever

Ingraham: 7 lessons from the past 48 hours

Giuliani: Democrats stepped into more than they realize

Pelosi admits she hasn’t read the Ukraine call transcript

PBS NewsHour full episode September 25, 2019

Shep Smith Chris Wallace on Trump Ukraine Impeachment rollercoaster

Fox’s Tucker Carlson & Shep Smith engage in heated feud on air

Giuliani: Democrats stepped into more than they realize

Senators React To Official White House Notes From President Donald Trump Ukraine Call |

NBC News

Transcript released of Trump’s call with Ukraine leader

Biden sidesteps questions about son’s foreign work

Joe Biden’s son’s firm linked to Chinese government: New book

CrowdStrike: DNC’s Private Cyber Security Firm Had A Contract With The FBI

What is CrowdStrike, the Cybersecurity Firm Mentioned in Trump’s Ukraine Call?

Crowdstrike CEO on Being Mentioned in Trump’s Call With Ukraine Leader

Better Protection with Falcon Prevent

SECRET//ORCON/NOFORN

UNCLASSIFIED

[PkgNumberShort]

Declassified by order of the President
September 24, 2019

EYES-ONLY
DO NOT COPY

MEMORANDUM OF TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

SUBJECT:

(C) Telephone Conversation with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine

PARTICIPANTS:

President Zelenskyy of Ukraine

Notetakers: The White House Situation Room

DATE TIME
AND PLACE

July 25, 2019, 9:03 – 9:33 a.m. EDT
Residence

(S/NF)The President: Congratulations on a great victory. We all watched from the United States and you did a terrific job. The way you came from behind, somebody who wasn’t given much of a chance, and you ended up winning easily. It’s a fantastic achievement. Congratulations.

(S/NF)President Zelenskyy: You are absolutely right Mr. President. We did win big and we worked hard for this. We worked a lot but I would like to confess to you that I had an opportunity to learn from you. We used quite a few of your skills and knowledge and were able to use it as an example for our elections and yes it is true that these were unique elections. We were in a unique situation that we were able to

CAUTION: A Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation (TELCON) is not a verbatim transcript of a discussion. The text in this document records the notes and recollections of Situation Room Duty officers and NSC policy staff assigned to listen and memorialize the conversation in written form as the conversation takes place. A number of factors can affect the accuracy of the record, including poor telecommunications connections and variations in accent and/or interpretation, The word “inaudible” is used to indicate portions of a conversation that the notetaker was unable to hear.

achieve a unique success. I’m able to tell you the following; the first time, you called me to congratulate me when I won my presidential election, and the second time you are now calling me when my party won the parliamentary election. I think I should run more often so you can call me more often and we can talk over the phone more often.

(S/NF)The President: [laughter] That’s a very good idea. I think your country is very happy about that.

(S/NF)President Zelenskyy: Well yes, to tell you the truth, we are trying to work hard because we wanted to drain the swamp here in our country. We brought in many many new people. Not the old politicians, not the typical politicians, because we want to have a new format and a new type of government. You are a great teacher for us and in that.

(S/NF)The President: Well it’s very nice of you to say that. I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time.1 Much more than the European countries are doing and they should be helping you more than they are. Germany does almost nothing for you. All they do is talk and I think it’s something that you should really ask them about. When I was speaking to Angela Merkel she talks Ukraine, but she doesn’t do anything. A lot of the European countries are the same way so I think it’s something you want to look at but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine. I wouldn’t say that it’s reciprocal necessarily because things are happening that are not good but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine.2

(S/NF)President Zelenskyy: Yes you are absolutely right. Not only. 100%, but actually 1000% and I can tell you the following; I did talk to Angela Merkel and I did meet with her. I also met and talked with Macron and I told them that they are not doing quite as much as they need to be doing on the issues with the sanctions. They are not enforcing the sanctions. They are not working as much as they should work for Ukraine. It turns out that even though logically, the European Union should be our biggest partner but technically the United States is a much bigger partner than the European Union and I’m very grateful to you for that because the United States is doing quite a lot for Ukraine. Much more than the European Union especially when we are talking about sanctions against the Russian Federation. I would also like to thank you for your great support in the area of defense. We are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps. specifically we are almost ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes.

UNCLASSIFIED

SECRET//ORCON/NOFORN

1 Mr. Trump alludes to American aid, while not explicitly linking his request to unfreezing it. At the time of this call, Mr. Trump was holding back hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine that Congress had appropriated to help that country fend off Russian aggression.

2 Mr. Trump brings up the idea of reciprocity, suggesting that the United States has been good to Ukraine even though something Ukraine has done is not good. The next thing Mr. Trump said — after Mr. Zelensky responded to this statement — was to ask for investigations.

(S/NF)The President: I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike… I guess you have one of your wealthy people… The server, they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation. I think you’re surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it3. As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller, an incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine. Whatever you can do, it’s very important that you do it if that’s possible.

(S/NF)President Zelenskyy: Yes it is very important for me and everything that you just mentioned earlier. For me as a President, it is very important and we are open for any future cooperation. We are ready to open a new page on cooperation in relations between the United States and Ukraine. For that. purpose, I just recalled our ambassador from United States and he will be replaced by a very competent and very experienced ambassador who will work hard on making sure that our two nations are getting closer. I would also like and hope to see him having your trust and your confidence and have personal relations with you so we can cooperate even more so. I will personally tell you that one of my assistants spoke with Mr. Giuliani just recently and we are hoping very much that Mr. Giuliani will be able to travel to Ukraine and we will meet once he comes to Ukraine. I just wanted to assure you once again that you have nobody but friends around us. I will make sure that I surround myself with the best and most experienced people. I also wanted to tell you that we are friends. We are great friends and you Mr. President have, friends in our country so we can continue our strategic partnership. I also plan to surround myself with great people and in addition to that investigation, I guarantee as the President of Ukraine that all the investigations will be done openly and candidly. That I can assure you.

(S/NF)The President: Good because I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and that’s really unfair. A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your very good prosecutor down and you had some very bad people involved. Mr. Giuliani is a highly respected man. He was the mayor of New York City, a great mayor, and I would like him to

UNCLASSIFIED

SECRET//ORCON/NOFORN

3Mr. Trump said Attorney General William P. Barr would call the Ukrainian president about another investigation. Mr. Trump appears to be referencing an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory pushed by Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, that Ukraine had some involvement in the emails stolen from Democratic National Committee.

call you. I will ask him to call you along with the Attorney General. Rudy very much knows what’s happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great.4 The former ambassador from the United States, the woman, was bad news and the people she was dealing with in the Ukraine were bad news so I just want to let you know that. The other thing, There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it… It sounds horrible to me. 5

(S/NF)President Zelenskyy: I wanted to tell you about the prosecutor. First of all I understand and I’m knowledgeable about the situation. Since we have won the absolute majority in our Parliament, the next prosecutor general will be 100% my person, my candidate, who will be approved by the parliament and will start as a new prosecutor in September. He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue. The issue of the investigation of the case is actually the issue of making sure to restore the honesty so we will take care of that and will work on the investigation of the case. On top of that, I would kindly ask you if you have any additional information that you can provide to us, it would be very helpful for the investigation6 to make sure that we administer justice in our country with regard to the Ambassador to the United States from Ukraine as far as I recall her name was Ivanovich. It was great that you were the first one, who told me that she was a bad ambassador because I agree with you 100%. Her attitude towards me was far from the best as she admired the previous President and she was on his side. She would not accept me as a new President: well enough.

(S/NF)The President: Well, she’s going to go through some things. I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it. I’m sure you will figure it out. I heard the prosecutor was treated very badly and he was a very fair prosecutor so good luck with everything. Your economy is going to get better and better I predict. You have a lot of assets. It’s a great country. I have many Ukrainian friends, their incredible people.

(S/NF)President Zelenskyy: I would like to tell you that I also have quite a few Ukrainian friends that live in the United States. Actually last time I traveled to the United States, I stayed in New York near Central Park and I stayed at the Trump

UNCLASSIFIED

SECRET//ORCON/NOFORN

4 Mr. Trump is pushing Mr. Zelensky to deal directly with Mr. Giuliani, his personal lawyer and close ally. Mr. Giuliani has repeatedly pushed conspiracy theories about the Bidens and encouraged the Ukrainian government to ramp up investigations into them.

5 Here, Mr. Trump pushes the Ukrainian president to get his country’s prosecutor to open an investigation into former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son, Hunter.

6 Mr. Zelensky promises to do what Mr. Trump is asking — launch an investigation into the Bidens — but also asks Mr. Trump if he can provide any information for Ukrainian investigators to look at.

Tower. I will talk to them and I hope to see them again in the future. I also wanted to thank you for your invitation to visit the United States, specifically Washington DC. On the other hand, I also want to ensure you that we will be very serious about the case and will work on the investigation. As to the economy, there is much potential for our two countries and one of the issues that is very important for Ukraine is energy independence. I believe we can be very successful and cooperating on energy independence with United States. We are already working on cooperation. We are buying American oil but I am very hopeful for a future meeting. We will have more time and more opportunities to discuss these opportunities and get to know each other better. I would like to thank you very much for your support.

(S/NF)The President: Good. Well, thank you very much and I appreciate that. I will tell Rudy and Attorney General Barr to call. Thank you. Whenever you would like to come to the White House, feel free to call. Give us a date and we’ll work that out. I look forward to seeing you.

(S/NF)President Zelenskyy: Thank you very much. I would be very happy to come and would be happy to meet with you personally and get to know you better. I am looking forward to our meeting and I also would like to invite you to visit Ukraine and come to the city of Kyiv which is a beautiful city. We have a beautiful country which would welcome you. On the other hand, I believe that on September 1 we will be in Poland and we can meet in Poland hopefully. After that, it might be a very good idea for you to travel to Ukraine. We can either take my plane and go to Ukraine or we can take your plane, which is probably much better than mine.

(S/NF)The President: Okay, we can work that out. I look forward to seeing you in Washington and maybe in Poland because I think we are going to be there at that time.

(S/NF) President Zelenskyy: Thank you very much Mr. President.

(S/NF)The President: Congratulations on a fantastic job you’ve done. The whole world was watching. I’m not sure it was so much of an upset but congratulations.

(S/NF)President Zelenskyy: Thank you Mr. President bye-bye.

— End of Conversation —

UNCLASSIFIED

SECRET//ORCON/NOFORN

‘I would like you to do us a favor.’ Read the whole declassified transcript of Donald Trump’s call with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky

This is the full text of the classified White House memo released amid the outcry over Donald Trump‘s dealing with Ukraine, showing what happened in his call with Volodymyr Zelensky. Spelling in this transcript is per the White House

Declassified by order of the President’ September 24, 2019

MEMORANDUM OF TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

SUBJECT: Telephone Conversation with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine

PARTICIPANTS: President Zelenskyy of Ukraine

Notetakers: The White House Situation Room

DATE, TIME AND PLACE: July 25, 2019, 9:03 – 9:33 a.m. EDT Residence

The President: Congratulations on a great victory. We all watched from the United States and you did a terrific job. The way you came from behind, somebody who wasn’t given much of a chance, and you ended up winning easily. It’s a fantastic achievement. Congratulations.

President Zelenskyy: You are absolutely right Mr. President. We did win big and we worked hard for this. We worked a lot but I would like to confess to you that I had an opportunity to learn from you.

Call: Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on July 25

We used quite a few of your skills and knowledge and were able to use it as an example for our elections – and yes it is true that these were unique elections. We were in a unique situation that we were able to achieve a unique success. I’m able to tell you the following; the first time, you called me to congratulate me when I won my presidential election, and the second time you are now calling me when my party won the parliamentary election. I think I should run more often so you can call me more often and we can talk over the phone more often.

The President: [laughter] That’s a very good idea. I think your country is very happy about that.

President Zelenskyy: Well yes, to tell you the truth, we are trying to work hard because we wanted to drain the swamp here in our country. We brought in many many new people. Not the old politicians, not the typical politicians, because we want to have a new format and a new type of government. You are a great teacher for us and in that.

The President: Well it is very nice of you to say that. I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time. Much more than the European countries are doing and they should be helping you more than they are. Germany does almost nothing for you. All they do is talk and I think it’s something that you should really ask them about. When I was speaking to Angela Merkel she talks Ukraine, but she doesn’t do anything. A lot of the European countries are the same way so I think it’s.something you want to look at but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine. I wouldn’t say that it’s reciprocal necessarily because things are happening that are not good but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine.

President Zelenskyy: Yes you are absolutely right. Not only 100%, but actually 1000% and I can tell you the following; I did talk to Angela Merkel and I did meet.with her. I also met and talked with Macron and I told them that they are not doing quite as much as they need to be doing on the issues with the sanctions. They are not enforcing the sanctions. They are not working as much as they should work for Ukraine. It turns out that even though logically, the European Union should be our biggest partner but technically the United States is a much bigger partner than the European Union and I’m very grateful to you for that because the United States is doing quite a lot for Ukraine. Much more than the European Union especially when we are talking about sanctions against the Russian Federation. I would also like to thank you for your great support in the area of defense. We are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps. specifically we are almost ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes.

‘Incompetent performance’: Trump made the call the day after watching Robert Mueller’s disastrous appearance in front of Congress

The President: I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike… I guess you have one of your wealthy people… The server, they say Ukraine has it. There- are a lot. of things that went on, the whole situation. I think you are surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it. As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller, an incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine. Whatever you can do, it’s very important that you do it if that’s possible.

President Zelenskyy: Yes it is very important for me and everything that you just mentioned earlier. For me as a President, it is very important and we are open for any future cooperation. We are ready to open a new page on cooperation in relations between the United States and Ukraine. For that purpose, I just recalled our ambassador from United States and he will be replaced by a very competent and very experienced ambassador who will work hard on making sure that our two nations are getting closer. I would also like and hope to see him having your trust and your confidence and have personal relations with you so we can cooperate even more so. I will personally tell you that one of my assistants spoke with Mr Giuliani just recently and we are hoping very much that Mr. Giuliani will be able to travel to Ukraine and we will meet once he comes to Ukraine. I just wanted to assure you once again that you have nobody but friends around us. I will make sure that I surround myself with the best and most experienced people. I also wanted to tell you that we are friends. We are great friends and you Mr. President have friends in our country so we can continue our strategic partnership. I also plan to surround myself with great people and in addition to that investigation, I guarantee as the President of Ukraine that all the investigations will be done openly and candidly. That I can assure you.

The President: Good because I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and that’s really unfair. A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your very good prosecutor down and you had some very bad people involved. Mr. Giuliani is a highly respected man. He was the mayor of New York City, a great mayor, and I would like him to call you. I will ask him to call you along with the Attorney General.

Questions over conduct: Donald Trump asked Ukraine to probe why a prosecutor was fired and claimed that he was prosecuting Hunter Biden at the time

Rudy very much knows what’s happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great. The former ambassador from the United States, the woman, was bad news and the people she was dealing with in the Ukraine .were bad news so I just want to let you know that. The other thing, There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it … It sounds horrible to me.

President Zelenskyy: I wanted to tell you about the prosecutor. First of all I understand and I’m knowledgeable about the situation. Since we have won the absolute majority in our Parliament, the next prosecutor general will be 100% my person, my candidate, who will be approved by the parliament and will start as a new prosecutor in September. He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue. The issue of the investigation of the case is actually the issue of making sure to restore the honesty so we will take care of that and will work on the investigation of the case. On top of that, I would kindly ask you if you have any additional information that you can provide to us, it would be very helpful for the investigation to make sure that we administer justice in our country with regard to the Ambassador to the United States from Ukraine as far as I recall her name was Ivanovich. It was great that you were the first one. who told me that she was a bad ambassador because I agree with you 100%. Her attitude towards me was far from the best as she admired the previous President and she was on his side. She would not accept me as a new President well enough.

Trump’s verdict: Rudy very much knows what’s happening and he is a very capable guy.

The president: Well, she’s going to go through some things. I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it. I’m sure you will figure it out. I heard the prosecutor was treated very badly and he was a very fair prosecutor so good luck with everything. Your economy is going to get better and better I predict. You have a lot of assets. It’s a great country. I have many Ukrainian friends, their incredible people.

President Zelenskyy: I would like to tell you that I also have quite a few Ukrainian friends that live in the United States. Actually last time I traveled to the United States, I stayed in New York near Central Park and I stayed at the Trump Tower. I will talk to them and I hope to see them again in the future. I also wanted to thank you for your invitation to visit the United States, specifically Washington DC. On ,the other hand, I also wanted to ensure you that we will be very serious about the case and will work on the investigation. As to the economy, there is much potential for our two countries and one of the issues. that is very important for Ukraine is energy independence. I believe we can be very successful and cooperating on energy independence with United States. We are already working on cooperation. We are buying American oil but I am very hopeful for a future meeting. We will have more time and more opportunities to discuss these opportunities and get to know each other better. I would like to thank you very much for your support .

Call me: Bill Barr is named repeatedly by Trump in the course of his call

The President: Good. Well, thank you very much and I appreciate that. I will tell Rudy and Attorney General Barr to call. Thank you. Whenever you would like to come to the White House, feel free to call. Give us a date and we’ll work that. out. I look forward to seeing you.

President Zelenskyy: Thank you very much. I would be very happy to come and would be happy to meet with you personally and I get to know you better. I am looking forward to our meeting and I also would like to invite you to visit Ukraine and come to the city of Kyiv which is a beautiful city. We have a beautiful country which would welcome you. On the other hand, I believe that on September 1 we will be in Poland and we can meet in Poland hopefully. After that,it might be a very good idea for you to travel to Ukraine. We can either take my plane and go to Ukraine or we can take your plane, which is probably much better than mine.

The President: Okay, we can work that out. I look forward to seeing you in Washington and maybe in Poland because I think we are going to be there at that time.

President Zelenskyy: Thank you very much Mr. President.

The President: Congratulations on a fantastic job you’ve done. The whole world was watching. I’m not sure it was so much of an upset but congratulations.

Transcript of Donald Trump’s call to Ukraine’s president is published and reveals he DID ask leader to investigate Joe Biden and work with Rudy Giuliani but did NOT tie it to aid – and Bill Barr’s Justice Department has ALREADY cleared him

The White House on Wednesday released the bombshell transcript of President Donald Trump’s phone call with the president of Ukraine

Trump urged Volodymyr Zelensky to work with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani after the new Ukrainian leader said his aide had met the former New York mayor

Trump brought up former VP Joe Biden and his son Hunter, saying there was ‘a lot of talk about Biden’s son’

He tried to connect Zelensky directly with Giuliani and Attorney General Bill Barr

Zelensky said he wanted to ‘drain the swamp’ and called Trump a ‘great teacher’

Trump appeared to reference the the hacked DNC server, asking Zelensky to ‘find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine’

Zelensky told Trump he had stayed at Trump Tower in the past and said: ‘You have nobody but friends around us.’

The call is part of a whistle-blower complaint to the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community

Both he and the acting Director of National Intelligence passed it to the DOJ for possible criminal investigation – but it declined to order one

A defiant Trump called the furor over the call ‘a political war’ and a ‘witch hunt’ and said it had been ‘built up as the call from hell’

The White House on Wednesday released the bombshell transcript of President Donald Trump‘s phone call with the president of Ukraine where Trump urges his counterpart to investigate Joe Biden and work directly with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani – and even brings up the DNC’s hacked email server.

But the transcript does not show Trump tying the investigation to aid for Ukraine as he spoke to Volodymyr Zelensky, the quid pro quo which some reports had suggested it contained.

The call forms part of the whistle-blower complaint from an unknown intelligence official which alleges a pattern of wrongdoing by the president in his dealings with Ukraine, but which has been blocked from being given to Congress.

The unprecedented publication of a transcript of a president’s call to a foreign leader is unprecedented was accompanied by two bombshell revelations from the Department of Justice, where officials said:

The acting Director of National Intelligence, Joseph Maguire, and the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, Michael Atkinson, referred the whistle-blower complaint to the Department of Justice for possible criminal investigation into Trump’s actions;

The Justice Department, led by Attorney General Bill Barr, has already declined to criminally investigate the call – effectively clearing the president.

At the United Nations Donald Trump called Democratic plans to impeach him ‘a political war,’ and trashed critics who had suggested the phonecall was evidence of wrongdoing.

Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he had directed the release of a ‘complete’ transcript of the July 25 phone call

Ftriends: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted a photo of himself and his wife Olena with President Trump and Melania Trump at a diplomatic reception Tuesday night

‘There was no pressure, the way you had that built up, that call, it was going to be the call from hell,’ he said.

‘It turned out to be a nothing call other than a lot of people said, I never knew you could be so nice.’

But Adam Schiff, Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, compared the call to a ‘classic mob shakedown.’

In the Senate, Republican Mitt Romney said it was ‘deeply troubling,’ but Trump ally Lindsey Graham aggressively defended it and said: ‘To impeach any president over a phone call like this would be insane.’

Clinton weighs in on impeachment

But Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent in 2016, tweeted her endorsement of America’s harshest political penalty.

‘The president of the United States has betrayed our country. That’s not a political statement—it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,’ she said. ‘He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.’

In the call, the president mentions political rival Biden by name, seeks an inquiry into a company tied to Biden’s surviving son, Hunter, and predicts Ukraine’s economy will do ‘better and better’ – but does not explicitly tie the United States’ aid to the country to the investigation he demands.

Ukraine links: Joe Biden made multiple trips there and demanded action on corruption; Hunter was on the board of a natural gas firm which faced money-laundering accusations

How Trump reacted: As well as speaking at the United Nations, he tweeted a link to a story by ultra-conservative news website Breitbart which accuses the Democrats of tying Ukraine aid to investigating him

2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton said Trump has ‘betrayed our country’ and called for his impeachment

He urges the president to contact Giuliani, who this summer called off a planned mission to Ukraine after bringing up a Ukrainian energy company where Hunter Biden served on the board.

‘There is a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great,’ Trump says, according to the transcript.

‘Biden went about bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it… it sounds horrible to me,’ the president told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president assured Trump: ‘The next prosecutor general will be 100 per cent my person, my candidate, who will be approved, by the parliament and will start. As a new prosecutor in September.

THE FIVE KEY QUOTES FROM THE TRUMP-ZELENSKY PHONE CALL

Trump: ‘I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time. Much more than the European countries are ‘doing and they should be helping you more than they are.’

Trump: ‘I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike … I guess you have one of your wealthy people… The server, they say Ukraine has it.’

Trump: ‘There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it … It sounds horrible to me.’

Trump: ‘I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it.’

Zelensky: ‘I also wanted to ensure you that we will be very serious about the case and will work on the investigation.’

‘He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue. The issue of the investigation of the case is actually the issue of making sure to restore the honesty so we will take care of that and will work on the investigation.’

Flattering phone call

Ukraine’s president Zelensky said he wanted to ‘drain the swamp’ and called Trump a ‘great teacher for all of us,’ according to the transcript.

Trump told his counterpart: ‘I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and that’s really unfair. A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your very good prosecutor down and you had some very bad people involved.’

‘Mr. Giuliani is a highly respected man. He was the mayor of New York City, a great mayor, and I would like him to call you. I will ask him to call you along with the Attorney General. Rudy very much knows what’s happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great,’ Trump said.

Democrats were already planning to scour the transcript for any suggestion of a quid-pro-quo – which Trump has explicitly denied offering.

The transcript shows no such direct linkage – although Trump does appear to mention a variety of ways in which Ukraine might benefit from acceding to his requests.

He tells Zelensky ‘I would like you do us a favor though’ when he asks him to find out what happened with the Democratic National Committee’s server – immediately after Zelensky thanked him for U.S. defense support and said he was about to buy American weaponry.

He appears to reference an unnamed oligarch when he says ‘I guess you have one of your wealthy people …’ without apparently finishing the thought.

U.S. security assistance mentioned

Trump does not appear to mention $250 million in security aid to Ukraine that the president later said he held up before making the call.

He does, however, say the U.S. does ‘a lot’ for Ukraine, and trashes Germany’s and the Europeans’ efforts.

‘I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time. Much more than the European countries are doing and they should be helping you more than they are. Germany does almost nothing for you. All they do is talk and I think it’s something that you should really ask them about,’ Trump said.

He adds that German Chancellor Angela Merkel ‘doesn’t do anything.’ He said the U.S. ‘has been very, very good to Ukraine.’

He also trashes the Obama-nominated ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovich, who stayed over into his own administration. She is a career diplomat and remains a State Department employee.

‘The former ambassador from the United States, the woman, was bad news,’ Trump said, and the people she was dealing with in Ukraine ‘were bad news.’

In response, Zelenksy tells Trump that the new prosecutor will be ‘100 per cent my person, my candidate’ and promises: ‘He or she will look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned’ – meaning the one affiliated with Hunter Biden.

Zelensky also bashes Yovanovich, prompting Trump to answer: ‘Well, she’s going to go through some things.’

He also appeared to reference the the DNC server which was hacked before the 2016 election, asking Zelensky to ‘find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine.’

He asked Zelensky ‘to do us a favor’ by investigating whether Ukraine is in possession of computer data linked to hacking of a Democratic National Committee server in 2016.

In the hot seat: Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday as his call to Donald Trump was unveiled

Cleared: Bill Barr’s Justice Department declined to order a full criminal investigation into the president after both the Director of National Intelligence and the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community referred the whistle-blower complaint to the attorney-general’s department

He mentioned Crowdstrike, a company that helped the Democratic National Committee manage its computer network when Russian agents penetrated it.

Trump has vented at his political rallies that the FBI in 2016 never made an effort to seize the server and analyze its contents.

‘I guess you have one of your wealthy people… The server, they say Ukraine has it,’ Trump said in the July call with Zelensky.

WHAT THE CALL TRANSCRIPT REVEALS TRUMP SAID ON…

Robert Mueller in front of Congress:

– “An incompetent performance”

His own attorney Rudy Giuliani:

– “Very much knows what’s happening and he is a very capable guy”

Joe Biden’s boast about firing previous Ukraine prosecutor:

– “It sounds horrible to me”

Fired U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovich:

– “The woman, was bad news”

Prosecutor fired after Biden intervened:

– “I heard… he was a very fair prosecutor”

‘I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it.’

The only person to directly bring up U.S. security aid for Ukraine at a time it was being held up is Zelensky – who says Ukraine is ‘ready to continue to cooperate for next steps.’

Ukraine desperately wants the aid as it continues to clash with Russia following its 2014 invasion and annexation of Crimea.

‘The United States is doing quite a lot for Ukraine. Much more than the European Union especially when we are talking about sanctions against the Russian Federation,’ Zelensky said, mentioning U.S. imposed sanctions that Trump resisted when Congress tightened them after his election.

‘I would also like to thank you for your great support in the area of defense,’ Zelensky continues. ‘We are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps. Specifically we are almost ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes,’ he said, mentioning Javelin missiles, a portable anti-tank munition.

Zelensky flattered Trump and told him on his last trip to New York he stayed at Trump Tower.

He assured Trump: ‘We will be very serious about the case and will work on the investigation.’

The two men talked about meeting on Trump’s then-planned trip to Poland. Zelensky suggested a joint trip to Ukraine. ‘We can either take my plane and go to Ukraine or we can take your plane, which is probably much better than mine,’ Zelensky said.

Zelensky appears with Trump and says the call was ‘normal’

During a joint availability with Trump at the UN, Zelensky characterized their conversation as ‘normal.’

‘I think you read everything. I think you read text. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be involved to Democratic … elections, elections of USA. No, sure, we had – I think good phone call,’ he said, while seated beside Trump. ‘It was normal. We spoke about many things, and I – so I think and you read it that nobody pushed me. Yes.’

Trump jumped in: ‘In other words, no pressure.’ Trump then teed off on Hunter Biden and said Ukraine may somehow be in possession of 33,000 emails Hillary Clinton deleted from her home server.

He referenced a business contract Hunter Biden obtained. ‘When Biden’s son walks out of China with $1.5 billion in a fund and the biggest funds in the world can’t get money out of China, and he’s there for one quick meeting and he flies in on Air Force Two, I think that’s a horrible thing,’ Trump said.

Trump said Zelensky was doing the ‘whole world a big favor’ by investigating corruption.

‘Stop corruption in Ukraine because that will really make you great. That will make you great personally and it will also be so tremendous for your nation in terms of what you want to do and where you want to take it,’ Trump said.

Zelenksy tried to stay out of the fray. ‘Remember, we are the biggest country in Europe, but we want to be the richest one,’ he said.

Trump defended personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who is under fire for his personal contracts with Ukraine to try to get at the start of the Russia probe and glean information about the Bidens.

‘I will tell you this, that Rudy’s looking to also find out where the phony witch-hunt started, how it started. You had a Russian witch hunt turned out to be two and a half years of phony nonsense. And Rudy Giuliani is a great lawyer,’ Trump said.

‘I’ve watched the passion that he’s had on television over the last few days. I think it’s incredible the way he’s done,’ Trump continued.

‘He wants to find out where did this Russian witch-hunt you people really helped perpetrate, where did it start? How come it started? It was all nonsense. It was a hoax – total hoax … And Rudy’s got every right to go and find out where that started and other people are looking at that, too.

Asked if a server containing Clinton’s emails might be in Ukraine, as he suggested in the call transcript, Trump replied: ‘Could very well.’

Then he said he liked the question, ‘because frankly i think that one of the great crimes committed is Hillary Clinton deleting 33,000 emails after congress sent her a subpoena.’

He told Zelensky: ‘we have corruption also, Mr. president. We have a lot of corruption in our government, and when you see what happened with Hillary Clinton, when you see what happened with [former FBI Director James] Comey and [former FBI official Andrew] McCabe and all of these people, we have a lot of things going on here, too. Hopefully it’s going to be found out very soon, but I think that a lot of progress has been made. A lot of progress has been made,’ he said.

Trump’s campaign hits back

Trump’s presidential campaign immediately teed off on the release of the transcript, accusing Democrats of acting out of ‘pure hatred.’

‘Because of their pure hatred for President Trump, desperate Democrats and the salivating media already had determined their mission: take out the President,’ said Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale.

‘The fact is that the President wants to fight the corruption in Washington, where the Bidens, the Clintons, and other career politicians have abused their power for personal gain for decades. The facts prove the President did nothing wrong,’ he said. ‘This is just another hoax from Democrats and the media, contributing to the landslide re-election of President Trump in 2020.’

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, however, saw no reason to back off his statement that the information is ‘troubling.’

‘This remains deeply troubling and we’ll see where it leads but the first reaction is, troubling,’ he said at a forum hosted by the Atlantic magazine. But he declined to say whether it was an ‘impeachable offense.’

Asked about the quid pro quo issue, Romney said: ‘I don’t know that I’ve focused so much on the quid pro quo element … There’s just the question of… if the president of the United States asks or presses the leader for a foreign country to carry out an investigation of a political nature, that’s troubling. And I feel that. If there were a quid pro quo, that would take it to an entirely more extreme level,’ Romney said.

The transcript became a political hot potato this week as Democrats clamored for its release with predictions that it would show Trump committing impeachable offenses.

They argue that Trump’s request for a new investigation into the Bidens was motivated by a desire to politically cripple the former vice president, who was then thought of as his main rival in the 2020 presidential election.

Trump released the call transcript the morning after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House was conducting a formal impeachment inquiry of the president.

How Trump’s Ukraine call could violate campaign finance laws

President Donald Trump’s repeated prodding of the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden and his son could amount to an illegal request for a campaign contribution from a foreign citizen.

Federal law states it is illegal to “knowingly solicit, accept, or receive from a foreign national any contribution or donation.” Trump’s request to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was not for campaign cash, but what’s referred to as an “in kind” contribution that would arguably be of more value – damaging information that could be weaponized against Biden, a potential 2020 rival.

That’s likely to be among the issues House Democrats focus on as they pursue an impeachment inquiry into efforts by Trump and his attorney Rudy Giuliani. The former New York mayor spearheaded Trump’s effort to obtain information on Biden and his son Hunter, who did work for a Ukrainian gas company while his father was vice president.

“It turns on a basic question,” said Larry Noble, a former general counsel to the Federal Election Commission who is a Trump critic. “Is it legal for the president of the United States to ask a foreign country to intervene in our election to help him and investigate his potential opponent? And I think it is clearly illegal.”

Trump has said he did nothing wrong. Justice Department prosecutors have determined Trump did not violate campaign finance law, including a prohibition on accepting campaign contributions or a “thing of value” from foreign governments. A department official said prosecutors made the determination based on the elements of the crime and did not consider the department’s policy prohibiting the indictment of a sitting president.

That makes impeachment the only likely avenue to pursue.

President Donald Trump walks off following a news conference at the InterContinental Barclay New York hotel during the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, in New York. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin are left. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Giuliani, however, doesn’t enjoy the same immunity and could be charged for his role, legal experts say. Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.

The drama unfolding in Congress revisits a central issue from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation: Did Trump campaign officials break the law by “knowingly” requesting, accepting or receiving a donation from a foreign national?

Mueller said “no” because it was difficult to tell whether they were aware of the law when Trump’s son and several advisers held a meeting with Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. This time that would be a far more difficult argument to make after Trump has faced repeated questions in recent months over his willingness to accept foreign help.

One day after Mueller told Congress it was hard to prove his awareness of the law, Trump was on the phone with Zelenskiy seeking assistance digging into allegations against the Bidens, which have not been substantiated.

“There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son,” Trump said.

At one point in the conversation, he said, “I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General (William) Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it.”

So just how valuable is the information Trump was seeking?

In the days before the call, Trump ordered advisers to freeze $400 million in military aid for Ukraine – prompting speculation that he was holding out the money as leverage for the information. Trump has denied that charge, but acknowledged he blocked the funds, later released.

Trump has sought to implicate Biden and his son in the kind of corruption that has long plagued Ukraine. Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company at the same time his father was leading the Obama administration’s diplomatic dealings with Kyiv. Though the timing raised concerns among anticorruption advocates, there has been no evidence of wrongdoing by either the former vice president or his son.

“Given the context of the call, President Trump created an implicit understanding that U.S. support for Ukraine and taxpayer-funded security aid to Ukraine was hanging in the balance,” said Trevor Potter, a Republican former FEC commissioner who is now president of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center.

Trump has angrily denounced the impeachment inquiry as “presidential harassment” and insisted he did nothing wrong because there was no “quid pro quo.”

“This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!” he tweeted.

But “you don’t need a quid pro quo” for it to be illegal, said Noble.

Aside from Trump’s request to Zelenskiy, there are other campaign finance issues that could carry civil or criminal penalties for others involved in the effort – like whether someone footed the bill for work done by Giuliani, who has said he is not compensated.

Giuliani’s actions on Trump’s behalf could be construed as political activity, but there are no records in FEC filings of him getting paid. If he were compensated or incurred expenses that were paid from outside the campaign, that would likely need to be reported as a contribution, Noble said.

Depending on the amount of money involved, a violation could include civil penalties and, in some cases, jail time.

Still, establishing that the effort violated campaign finance law will not be an easy task, said Dan Petalas, a former FEC attorney who once gave a $250 donation to a Democrat and is now in private practice.

“It certainly raises a question,” he said. “It really will turn on a better picture of the facts and connecting the dots. It is just so outside the norm.”

Contents

History

CrowdStrike was co-founded by George Kurtz (CEO),[4][5]Dmitri Alperovitch (CTO),[6] and Gregg Marston (CFO, retired) in 2011.[7][8] In 2012, Shawn Henry, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) official who led both the FBI’s criminal and cyber divisions, was hired to lead sister company CrowdStrike Services, Inc., which focused on proactive and incident response services.[9] In June 2013, the company launched its first product, CrowdStrike Falcon.[10] The company became known for providing threat intelligence and attribution to nation state actors[11] that are conducting economic espionage and IP theft.[12]

In May 2014, supported by CrowdStrike’s reports, the United States Department of Justice charged five Chinese military hackers for economic cyber espionage against United States corporations. CrowdStrike also uncovered the activities of Energetic Bear, a group connected to the Russian Federation that conducted intelligence operations against global targets, primarily in the energy sector.

After the Sony Pictures hack, CrowdStrike produced evidence implicating the government of North Korea within 48 hours, and demonstrated how the attack was carried out.[13] In 2014, CrowdStrike played a major role in identifying members of Putter Panda, the state-sponsored Chinese group also known as PLA Unit 61486, perpetrators of a cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure and defense, as well as on European satellite and aerospace industries.[14][15]

In May 2015, the company released researcher Jason Geffner’s discovery of VENOM, a critical flaw in an open-source hypervisor called Quick Emulator (QEMU),[16] which is used in a number of common virtualization products. This vulnerability could allow attackers to access sensitive personal information.[17] In October 2015, CrowdStrike announced that it had identified Chinese hackers attacking technology and pharmaceutical companies immediately before and after President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping publicly agreed not to use cyber-spies to conduct economic espionage against the other. The alleged hacking would have been in violation of that agreement.[18]

CrowdStrike released research in 2017 showing that 66 percent of the attacks to which the company responded that year were fileless or malware-free. The company also compiled data on the average time needed to detect an attack and the percentage of attacks detected by organizations themselves.[19]

In February 2018, CrowdStrike reported that in November and December 2017 it had observed a credential harvesting operation in the international sporting sector, with possible links to the cyber attack on the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.[20] That same month, Crowdstrike released research showing that 39 percent of all attacks observed by the company were malware-free intrusions. The company also named which industries attackers most frequently targeted.[21] That March, the company released a version of its Falcon product for mobile devices and launched the CrowdStrike store, which opens the Falcon platform to third-party applications.[22]

In January 2019, CrowdStrike published research reporting that Ryuk ransomware, used by cyber actor Grim Spider to target businesses, had accumulated more than $3.7 million in cryptocurrency payments since it first appeared in August.[23]

Also in 2019, CrowdStrike released its 2018 Global Threat Report, which ranked cybercriminals in order of fastest actors to operate within a network, with Russia coming in first.[24][25] The company also revealed that it tracked 81 named state-sponsored actors in 2018, and at least 28 were conducting active operations throughout the year. The research showed that of the sophisticated attacks that the company attributed to nation-states, China was responsible for the plurality: more than 25 percent.[26]

In December 2016, CrowdStrike released a report stating that Russian government-affiliated group Fancy Bear had hacked a Ukrainian artillery app.[39] They concluded that Russia had used the hack to cause large losses to Ukrainian artillery units. The app (called ArtOS) is installed on tablet PCs and used for fire-control.[40] The earliest version of the app (supported until 2015) was called POPR-D30 and installed on Android phones and tablets. CrowdStrike found a hacked variation of POPR-D30 being distributed on Ukrainian military forums that utilized an X-Agent implant.[41]

The International Institute for Strategic Studies rejected CrowdStrike’s assessment of hacking causing losses to Ukrainian artillery units, saying that their data on Ukrainian D30 howitzer losses was misused by CrowdStrike in their report. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also rejected the CrowdStrike report, stating that actual artillery losses were much smaller than what was reported by [CrowdStrike] and were not associated with [Russian hacking].[42]

Cybersecurity firm SecureWorks discovered a list of email addresses targeted by Fancy Bear in phishing attacks.[43] The list included the email address of Yaroslav Sherstyuk, the developer of ArtOS.[44] Additional Associated Press research supports CrowdStrike’s conclusions about Fancy Bear.[45]Radio Free Europe notes that the AP report “lends some credence to the original CrowdStrike report, showing that the app had, in fact, been targeted.”[46]

Following CrowdStrike’s investigation of the 2016 Democratic National Committee hacks, journalist Yasha Levine questioned CrowdStrike’s methodology, citing it as “forensics in reverse.”[47]

References…

External links

Article II – U.S. Constitution

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representatives from each State having one Vote; a quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:–”I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Section 2.

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

Section 3.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section 4.

The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

A Senate treaty document provides the text of the treaty as transmitted to the Senate, as well as the transmittal letter from the President, the submittal letter from the Secretary of State, and accompanying papers.

Text of Treaty Document available as:

[Senate Treaty Document 106-16]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
106th Congress Treaty Doc.
SENATE
1st Session 106-16
_______________________________________________________________________
TREATY WITH UKRAINE ON MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS
__________
MESSAGE
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND UKRAINE ON MUTUAL LEGAL
ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS WITH ANNEX, SIGNED AT KIEV ON JULY 22,
1998, AND WITH AN EXCHANGE OF NOTES SIGNED ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1999, WHICH
PROVIDES FOR ITS PROVISIONAL APPLICATION
November 10, 1999.--Treaty was read the first time, and together with
the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
and ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate.
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
79-118 WASHINGTON : 1999
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
The White House, November 10, 1999.
To the Senate of the United States:
With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the
Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Treaty Between
the United States of America and Ukraine on Mutual Legal
Assistance in Criminal Matters with Annex, signed at Kiev on
July 22, 1998. I transmit also, for the information of the
Senate, an exchange of notes which was signed on September 30,
1999, which provides for its provisional application, as well
as the report of the Department of State with respect to the
Treaty.
The Treaty is one of a series of modern mutual legal
assistance treaties being negotiated by the United States in
order to counter criminal activities more effectively. The
Treaty should be an effective tool to assist in the prosecution
of a wide variety of crimes, including drug trafficking
offenses. The Treaty is self-executing. It provides for a broad
range of cooperation in criminal matters. Mutual assistance
available under the Treaty includes: taking of testimony or
statements of persons; providing documents, records, and
articles of evidence; serving documents; locating or
identifying persons; transferring persons in custody for
testimony or other purposes; executing requests for searches
and seizures; assisting in proceedings related to restraint,
confiscation, forfeiture of assets, restitution, and collection
of fines; and any other form of assistance not prohibited by
the laws of the requested state.
I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable
consideration to the Treaty and give its advice and consent to
ratification.
William J. Clinton.
LETTER OF SUBMITTAL
----------
Department of State,
Washington, October 19, 1999.
The President,
The White House.
The President: I have the honor to submit to you the Treaty
Between the United States of America and Ukraine on Mutual
Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters with Annex (``the
Treaty''), signed at Kiev on July 22, 1998. I recommend that
the Treaty be transmitted to the Senate for its advice and
consent to ratification.
Also enclosed, for the information of the Senate, is an
exchange of notes under which the Treaty is being provisionally
applied to the extent possible under our respective domestic
laws, in order to provide a basis for immediate mutual
assistance in criminal matters. Provisional application would
cease upon entry into force of the Treaty.
The Treaty covers mutual legal assistance in criminal
matters. In recent years, similar bilateral treaties have
entered into force with a number of other countries. The Treaty
with Ukraine contains all essential provisions sought by the
United States. It will enhance our ability to investigate and
prosecute a range of offenses. The Treaty is designed to be
self-executing and will not require new legislation.
Article 1 sets forth a non-exclusive list of the major
types of assistance to be provided under the Treaty, including
taking the testimony or statements of persons; providing
documents, records and other items of evidence; locating or
identifying persons or items; serving documents; transferring
persons in custody for testimony or other purposes; executing
requests for searches and seizures; assisting in proceedings
related to immobilization and forfeiture of assets,
restitution, and collection of fines; and, rendering any other
form of assistance not prohibited by the laws of the Requested
State. The scope of the Treaty includes not only criminal
offenses, but also proceedings related to criminal matters,
which may be civil or administrative in nature.
Article 1(3) states that assistance shall be provided
without regard to whether the conduct involved would constitute
an offense under the laws of the Requested State.
Article 1(4) states explicitly that the Treaty is not
intended to create rights in private parties to obtain,
suppress, or exclude any evidence, or to impede the execution
of a request.
Article 2 provides for the establishment of Central
Authorities and defines Central Authorities for purposes of the
Treaty. For the United States, the Central Authority shall be
the Attorney General or a person designated by the Attorney
General. For Ukraine, the Central Authority shall be the
Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The article provides that the Central Authorities shall
communicate directly with one another for the purposes of the
Treaty.
Article 3 sets forth the circumstances under which a
Requested State's Central Authority may deny assistance under
the Treaty. A request may be denied if it relates to a military
offense that would not be an offense under ordinary criminal
law. A further ground for denial is that the request relates to
a political offense (a term expected to be defined on the basis
of that term's usage in extradition treaties). In addition, a
request may be denied if its execution would prejudice the
security or similar essential interests of the Requested State,
or if it is not made in conformity with the Treaty.
Before denying assistance under Article 3, the Central
Authority of the Requested State is required to consult with
its counterpart in the Requesting State to consider whether
assistance can be given subject to such conditions as the
Central Authority of the RequestedState deems necessary. If the
Requesting State accepts assistance subject to these conditions, it is
required to comply with the conditions. If the Central Authority of the
Requested State denies assistance, it is required to inform the Central
Authority of the Requesting State of the reasons for the denial.
Article 4 prescribes the form and content of written
requests under the Treaty, specifying in detail the information
required in each request. The article permits other forms of
requests in emergency situations but requires written
confirmation within ten days thereafter unless the Central
Authority of the Requested State agrees otherwise.
Article 5 requires the Central Authority of the Requested
State to execute the request promptly or to transmit it to the
authority having jurisdiction to do so. It provides that the
competent authorities of the Requested State shall do
everything in their power to execute a request, and that the
courts or other competent authorities of the Requested State
shall have authority to issue subpoenas, search and arrest
warrants, or other orders necessary to execute the request. The
Central Authority of the Requested State must make all
arrangements for representation of the Requesting State in any
proceedings arising out of an assistance request.
Under Article 5(3), requests are to be executed in
accordance with the laws of the Requested State except to the
extent that the Treaty provides otherwise. However, the method
of execution specified in the request is to be followed except
insofar as it is prohibited by the laws of the Requested State.
Article 5(4) provides that if the Central Authority of the
Requested State determines that execution of the request would
interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation, prosecution,
or proceeding in that State, it may postpone execution or,
after consulting with the Central Authority of the Requesting
State, impose conditions on execution. If the Requesting State
accepts assistance subject to the conditions, it shall comply
with such conditions.
Article 5(5) further requires the Requested State, if so
requested, to use its best efforts to keep confidential a
request and its contents, and to inform the Requesting State's
Central Authority if the request cannot be executed without
breaching confidentiality. This provides the Requesting State
an opportunity to decide whether to pursue the request or to
withdraw it in order to maintain confidentiality.
This article additionally requires the Requested State's
Central Authority to respond to reasonable inquiries by the
Requesting State's Central Authority regarding the status of
the execution of a particular request; to report promptly to
the Requesting State's Central Authority the outcome of its
execution; and, if the request is denied, to inform the
Requesting State's Central Authority of the reasons for the
denial.
Article 6 apportions between the two States the costs
incurred in executing a request. It provides that the Request
State shall pay all costs, except for the following items to be
paid by the Requesting State: fees of expert witnesses, costs
of interpretation, translation and transcription, and
allowances and expenses related to travel of persons pursuant
to Articles 10 and 11. If during the execution of the request,
it becomes apparent that extraordinary expenses will be
entailed, the Central Authorities shall consult to determine
the terms and conditions under which execution may continue.
Article 7 requires the Requesting State to comply with any
request by the Central Authority of the Requested State that
information or evidence obtained under the Treaty not be used
for proceedings other than those described in the request
without its priorconsent. Further, if the Requested State's
Central Authority asks that information or evidence furnished under
this Treaty be kept confidential or be used in accordance with
specified conditions, the Requesting State must use its best efforts to
comply with the conditions. Once information is made public in the
Requesting State in accordance with either or these provisions, no
further limitations on use apply. Nothing in the article prevents the
use or disclosure of information to the extent that there is an
obligation to do so under the Constitution of the Requesting State in a
criminal prosecution. The Requesting State is obliged to notify the
Requesting State in advance of any such proposed use or disclosure.
Article 8 provides that a person in the Requesting State
from whom testimony or evidence is requested pursuant to the
Treaty shall be compelled, if necessary, to appear and testify
or produce items, documents and records. The article requires
the Central Authority of the Requested State, upon request, to
furnish information in advance about the date and place of the
taking of testimony or evidence pursuant to this Article.
Article 8(3) further requires the Requested State to permit
the presence of persons specified in the request and to permit
them to question the person giving the testimony or evidence.
In the event that a person whose testimony or evidence is being
taken asserts a claim of immunity, incapacity, or privilege
under the laws of the Requesting State, Article 8(4) provides
that the testimony or evidence shall be taken and the claim
made known by written notification to the Central Authority of
the Requesting State for resolution by its competent
authorities. Finally, in order to ensure admissibility of
evidence in the Requesting State, Article 8(5) provides a
mechanism for authenticating evidence that is produced pursuant
to or that is the subject of testimony taken in the Requested
State.
Article 9 requires that the Requested State provide the
Requesting State with copies of publicly available records in
the possession of government departments and agencies in the
Requesting State. The Requested State may further provide
copies of any documents, records or information in the
possession of a government department or agency, but not
publicly available, to the same extent and under the same
conditions as it would provide them to its own law enforcement
or judicial authorities. The Requested State has the discretion
to refuse to execute, entirely or in part, such requests for
records not publicly available. Article 9(3) provides that
records produced pursuant to this Article shall, upon request,
be certified by the appropriate form attached to the request.
Article 9(3) also provides that no further authentication shall
be necessary for admissibility into evidence in the Requesting
State of official records pursuant to this Article.
Article 10 provides a mechanism for the Requesting State to
invite the voluntary appearance in its territory of a person
located in the Requested State shall indicate the extent to
which the expenses will be paid. It also states that the
Central Authority of the Requesting State has discretion to
determine that a person appearing in the Requesting State
pursuant to this Article shall not be subject to service of
process or be detained or subjected to any restriction of
personal liberty by reason of any acts or convictions that
preceded his departure from the Requested State. Any safe
conduct provided for by this article ceases seven days after
the Central Authority of the Requesting State has notified the
Central Authority of the Requested State that the person's
presence is no longer required, or if the person has left the
Requesting State and voluntarily returns to it.
Article 11 provides for temporary transfer of a person in
custody in the Requested State or in a third State to the
Requesting State for purposes of assistance under the Treaty
(for example, a witness incarcerated in the Requested State may
be transferred to have his deposition taken in the presence of
the defendant), provided that the person in question and the
Central Authorities of both States agree. The article also
provides for voluntary transfer of a person in the custody of
the Requesting State to the Requested State for purposes of
assistance under the Treaty (for example, a defendant in the
Requesting State may be transferred for purposes of attending a
witness deposition in the Requesting State), if the person
consents and if the Central Authorities of both States agree.
Article 11(3) further establishes both the express
authority and the obligation of the receiving State to maintain
the person transferred in custody unless otherwise agreed by
both Central Authorities. The return of the person transferred
is subject to terms and conditions agreed to by the Central
Authorities, and the sending State is not required to initiate
extradition proceedings for return of the person transferred.
The person transferred receives credit for time served in the
custody of the receiving State.
Article 12 establishes the authority of the Requested State
to authorize transit through its territory of a person held in
custody by a third State whose appearance has been requested by
the Requesting State. The Requested State further has the
authority and the obligation to keep the person in custody
during transit. The Parties retain discretion to refuse to
grant transit of their own nationals, however.
Article 13 requires the Requested State to use its best
efforts to ascertain the location or identity of persons or
items specified in a request.
Article 14 obligates the Requested State to use its best
efforts to effect service of any document relating, in whole or
in part, to any request for assistance under the Treaty. A
request for the service of a document requiring a person to
appear in the Requesting State must be transmitted a reasonable
time before the scheduled appearance. Proof of service is to be
provided in the manner specified in the request.
Article 15 obligates the Requested State to execute
requests for search, seizure, and delivery of any item to the
Requesting State if the request includes the information
justifying such action under the laws of theappropriate. The
Central Authority of the State receiving such information is required
to inform the Central Authority that provided the information of any
action taken.
Article 17 also obligates the Contracting States to assist
each other to the extent permitted by their respective laws in
proceedings relating to forfeiture of the proceeds and
instrumentalities of offenses, restitution to victims of crime,
and collection of fines imposed as sentences in criminal
prosecutions. This may include action to temporarily immobilize
the proceeds or instrumentalities pending further proceedings.
The Contracting State having custody over proceeds or
instrumentalities of offenses is required to dispose of them in
accordance with its laws. Either Contracting State may transfer
all or part of such assets, or the proceeds of their sale, to
the extent permitted by the transferring State's laws and upon
such terms as it deems appropriate.
Article 18 states that assistance and procedures provided
in the Treaty shall not prevent either Contracting State from
granting assistance to the other Contracting State through the
provisions of other applicable international agreements or
through the provisions of its national law. The Contracting
States may also provide assistance pursuant to any bilateral
arrangement, agreement, or practice which may be applicable.
Article 19 provides that the Central Authorities of the
Contracting States shall consult, at times mutually agreed, to
promote the most effective use of the Treaty, and may agree
upon such practical measures as may be necessary to facilitate
the Treaty's implementation.
Article 20 provides that the Treaty is subject to
ratification and the instruments shall be exchanged at
Washington as soon as possible. The Treaty enters into force
upon the exchange of instruments of ratification. Article 20
further provides that either Contracting State may terminate
the Treaty by written notice to the other Contracting State,
with termination to be effective six months following the date
of notification.
A Technical Analysis explaining in detail the provisions of
the Treaty is being prepared by the United States negotiating
delegation, consisting of representatives from the Departments
of Justice and State, and will be transmitted separately to the
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
The Department of Justice joins the Department of State in
favoring approval of this Treaty by the Senate as soon as
possible.
Respectfully submitted,
Strobe Talbott.
https://www.google.com/search?q=hearsay&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS774US774&oq=hearsay&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.1799j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Fox & Friends 9/25/19 7AM | Fox & Friends Fox News September 25, 2019

Story 3: The Attempted Coupe and Political Suicide of Democrat Party — Democrat Candidate Going Down For Betraying The American People and Constitution — Videos

House Democrat shares why he’s against impeaching Trump

Story 4: CIA Officer Assigned To White House Was The Whistle-blower That Was Aiding and Abetting A Leaker of Classified Information — Second Hand Hearsay — Who Was The Leaker? Who Was The Whistle-blower? — President Trump Wants To Know — Videos

Angry Dems demand full whistleblower complaint

Trump impeachment inquiry: “The whistleblower is a CIA officer who worked at the White House”

Former CIA leader on the Trump-Ukraine whistleblower complaint

Whistleblower complaint is declassified and could be released TODAY ahead of House testimony as Congress sees the ‘very disturbing’ memo accusing Donald Trump of trying to coerce Ukraine into probing Joe Biden

The whistleblower complaint accusing President Trump of trying to coerce the Ukraine into investigating Joe Biden on a July call could be released Thursday

Select members of Congress saw the complaint for the first time Wednesday

Without disclosing details about its contents, several Democrats said the report heightened their concerns over the allegations

Republicans also expressed concerns and said further investigation is necessary

But Republican Chris Stewart said complaint contains nothing that was not in the transcript of Trump’s phonecall, and he is ‘much less worried’ after reading it

An intelligence officer filed the complaint in August, raising concerns about the contents of the conversation and how the White House handled records of it

The White House has worked to discredit the whistleblower by emphasizing the inspector general’s finding that the informant may be biased against Trump

The whistleblower complaint accusing President Donald Trump of trying to coerce the Ukraine into investigating rival Joe Biden during a July phone call has been declassified and could be released as early as Thursday.

An anonymous intelligence officer filed the complaint with the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (ICIG) last month, claiming that Trump threatened to withhold US military aid unless Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to dig up damaging material about the Biden family’s ties to the country.

The White House has worked to discredit the whistleblower by emphasizing the inspector general’s finding that the informant may be politically biased against the president and had heard about the call indirectly.

Select members of Congress reviewed the complaint for the first time on Wednesday, hours after the Democrat-controlled House announced the launch of an official impeachment inquiry.

Without disclosing details about its contents, several Democrats said the report heightened their concerns over the allegations while Republicans said further investigation is necessary.

Select members of Congress reviewed the whistleblower complaint about President Trump’s dealings with the Ukraine for the first time on Wednesday. Several Democrats said the report heightened their concerns over the allegation. ‘Having read the documents in there, I’m even more worried about what happened than when I read the memorandum of the conversation,’ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (above) said

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (above) said: ‘I found the allegations deeply disturbing. I also found them very credible’

The whistleblower alleged that Trump threatened to withhold $400million in military aid to the Ukraine unless its president, Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to investigate Biden and his son Hunter’s business dealings in the country. Joe and Hunter Biden are pictured above

The complaint hinged on a July call between Trump and Zelensky (above together Wednesday)

‘Having read the documents in there, I’m even more worried about what happened than when I read the memorandum of the conversation,’ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said, calling for the report to be made public.

‘There are so many facts that have to be examined. It’s very troubling.’

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-California) said: ‘I found the allegations deeply disturbing. I also found them very credible.’

However, Chris Stewart, a Republican member of the same committee, said the complaint contained no information that was not already in the transcript of Trump’s conversation with Zelensky released earlier in the day.

He told Fox News’s ‘The Ingram Angle’ that he was initially anxious before viewing the complaint, but was ‘much more confident than I was this morning that this is going to go nowhere … there are just no surprises there.’

‘The entirety of it is focused on this one thing, and that’s the transcript of one phone call, the transcript that was released this morning,’ he added.

He said the document itself is six or seven pages long, but is entirely based on second-hand knowledge drawn from the transcript.

Stewart added that he doubts whoever made the complaint had actually seen the transcript, but had heard about it from elsewhere.

‘It is an urgent matter and there was simply no basis to keep this from committee,’ he said. ‘The idea that DOJ would have intervened to prevent it from getting to Congress throws the leadership of the department into ill repute.’

Rep Mike Quigley (D-Illinois) also branded the complaint ‘disturbing’ and said it was ‘extraordinarily detailed’ and ‘very, very well done’.

‘It reinforces the concerns that what we previously learned and I think it is a blueprint for what we still need to know,’ Quigley said. ‘It lays out exactly what Congress needs to investigate.’

Chris Stewart, a Republican member of the intelligence committee, viewed a copy of the whistleblower complaint Wednesday and said it contains nothing that is not already in the transcript of Donald Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

+10

Stewart said the complaint has been declassified, should be made available to the public as soon as possible, and encouraged everyone to read it for themselves

Republican lawmakers were more reserved in their response to the report but echoed Democrats’ calls for further investigation.

‘Republicans ought not to be rushing to circle the wagons to say there’s no there there when there’s obviously lots that’s very troubling there,’ Sen Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) said.

‘Democrats ought not be using words like “impeach” before they knew anything about the actual substance.’

‘The administration ought not be attacking the whistleblower as some talking points suggest they plan to do.’

Sen Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) told reporters he looked forward to receiving more information from acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire and intelligence inspector general Michael Atkinson, who are both expected to testify before Congress on Thursday.

‘I think, first of all, in this particular case, there’s not going to be that much information to have to put together, I think that argues for some patience to do that,’ Blunt said.

‘I think being able to ask them questions, look at two different points of view of this, and I think also at some point very quickly, we need to talk to the Justice Department.’

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also said they hope to hear from the anonymous whistleblower, whose lawyers have said their client intends to continue cooperating with Congress but hopes to remain anonymous.

Republican lawmakers were more reserved in their response to the report but echoed Democrats’ calls for further investigation. Missouri Sen Roy Blunt (pictured) told reporters he looked forward to hearing from acting director of national intelligence Joseph Maguire and intelligence inspector general Michael Atkinson, who are both expected to testify Thursday

THE FIVE KEY QUOTES FROM THE TRUMP-ZELENSKY PHONE CALL

Trump: ‘I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time. Much more than the European countries are ‘doing and they should be helping you more than they are.’

Trump: ‘I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike … I guess you have one of your wealthy people… The server, they say Ukraine has it.’

Trump: ‘There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it … It sounds horrible to me.’

Trump: ‘I will have Mr. Giuliani give you a call and I am also going to have Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it.’

Zelensky: ‘I also wanted to ensure you that we will be very serious about the case and will work on the investigation.’

The House and Senate intelligence panels fought hard for the complaint to be released after Maguire withheld it from Congress, sparking a firestorm over Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

Trump, whose administration had earlier balked at turning over the report, said Wednesday afternoon that ‘I fully support transparency on the so-called whistleblower information’ and that he had communicated that position to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California).

The complaint is at least in part related to the July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky.

The White House released a rough transcript of that call Wednesday, showing that Trump prodded Zelensky to work with the US attorney general and Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to investigate Democratic political rival Biden.

During the call, Trump suggested that Ukraine could be doing more to help the US without mentioning that he was blocking a large military assistance package that Congress had approved to help the country fend off Russian aggression.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fully endorsed an impeachment inquiry on Tuesday as Trump acknowledged his conversations with Zelensky, saying that if Trump abused his presidential powers, then it would mark a ‘betrayal of his oath of office’.

‘Impeachment for THAT?’ Trump mocks impeachment inquiry decision

Trump, whose administration had earlier balked at turning over the report, said Wednesday afternoon that ‘I fully support transparency on the so-called whistleblower information’

The DOJ released a memo explaining the Trump administration’s legal rationale for initially withholding the whistleblower’s complaint, which was submitted to Atkinson in August.

Two people briefed on the documents told the New York Times that the complainant identified multiple White House officials as corroborating witnesses to Trump’s potential misconduct. The sources said Atkinson interviewed witnesses when reviewing the complaint.

Atkinson found that the complainant may not support the president’s re-election and that they did not directly listen to the call or see the records that reconstructed it.

The officer apparently heard about the call secondhand when unidentified White House officials expressed concern that Trump had ‘abused his authority or acted unlawfully in connection with foreign diplomacy,’ the memo stated.

Despite the whistleblower’s potential bias and proximity to the call, Atkinson found reason to believe Trump’s alleged actions created a national security risk and that he may have illegally solicited a foreign campaign contribution.

He determined the complaint was ‘credible’ and forwarded it to Maguire, a Trump appointee.

Maguire then blocked release of the complaint to Congress, citing issues of presidential privilege and saying it was not an ‘urgent concern’.

Maguire is testifying publicly before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday and privately before the Senate panel.

Atkinson, who met privately with House lawmakers last week, will also talk privately to the Senate committee Thursday.